On Sept. 18, the EPA issued its first notice of violation to Volkswagen for installing so-called defeat devices on diesel versions of its 2009 to 2015 model year Volkswagen Jettas, Beetles, Golfs and Passats and 2010 to 2015 model year Audi A3s. MICHAEL SOHN, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

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The EPA said Monday that more diesel vehicles from Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche have violated the federal Clean Air Act. Affected models are equipped with 3-liter diesel engines for the 2014, 2015 and 2016 model years, including the 2014 VW Touareg; 2015 Porsche Cayenne; and 2016 Audi A6 Quattro, A7 Quattro, A8, A8L and Q5. CARLOS OSORIO, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

On Sept. 18, the EPA issued its first notice of violation to Volkswagen for installing so-called defeat devices on diesel versions of its 2009 to 2015 model year Volkswagen Jettas, Beetles, Golfs and Passats and 2010 to 2015 model year Audi A3s. MICHAEL SOHN, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

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The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Monday that additional diesel vehicles from Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche have violated the federal Clean Air Act for intentionally installing software to circumvent emissions standards.

“As part of our ongoing investigation, the Environmental Protection Agency, California Air Resources Board and Environment Canada have continued to test other light-duty diesel vehicles from VW,” Cynthia Giles, assistant administrator for the EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, said during a press conference Monday. “That testing revealed that VW has once again failed its obligation to comply with the law that protects clean air for all Americans.”

On Sept. 18, the EPA issued its first notice of violation to Volkswagen for installing so-called defeat devices on diesel versions of its 2009 to 2015 model year Volkswagen Jettas, Beetles, Golfs and Passats and 2010 to 2015 model year Audi A3s. According to the EPA, NOX emissions levels in those affected vehicles were 10 to 40 times higher than legally allowed. NOX is a harmful pollutant that contributes to ozone pollution, increasing the risk of asthma attacks and other respiratory illnesses especially among children, the elderly and people with pre-existing respiratory conditions.

The 3-liter diesel vehicles for which the EPA issued a second notice of violation Monday are alleged to emit up to nine times the EPA limit for NOX. The notice of violation affects about 10,000 diesel passenger cars sold in the United States since the 2014 model year and additional 2016 vehicles, the exact quantity of which is unknown.

“These vehicles have two modes of operation,” Giles said. “One VW labeled ‘temperature conditioning’ and one VW labeled ‘normal mode.’ When the vehicle senses it is undergoing a federal emissions test procedure, it operates in ‘temperature conditioning’ mode and appears to meet U.S. emissions standards. At exactly 1 second after the initial phase of the testing procedure, it switches to normal mode … resulting in significant increases in NOX emissions.”

The additional vehicles’ emissions violations were caught a result of testing the EPA, ARB and Environment Canada have been conducting on all 2015 and 2016 diesel models available for sale in the U.S. since Volkswagen admitted to intentionally manufacturing and installing the defeat-device software.

On Sept. 25, one week after the EPA announced the first round of diesel emissions violations, the California ARB sent letters to all automakers “letting them know we’d be screening vehicles for potential defeat devices,” said Richard Corey, executive officer of the California Air Resources Board. “Since then, ARB, EPA and Environment Canada has continued test programs on additional diesel-powered passenger cars and SUVs. It has raised serious concerns about additional defeat devices on VW, Audi and Porsche vehicles.”

The EPA is “already making changes and upping our game on our testing program. We’ve used the word ‘unpredictable.’ We will continue to be unpredictable using all the tools at our disposal to make sure we’re testing vehicles in circumstances where we will be able to deter excess emissions,” said Janet McCabe, acting assistant administrator for the EPA Office of Air and Radiation..

“The testing is still ongoing, so we can not yet discuss the results, but so far we have not identified any vehicles other than the ones identified in the two Notices of Violation that have used defeat devices. We plan to provide full results of our testing when it is completed.”

McCabe said the EPA is in “active and ongoing discussions with VW about recalls and fixes for the vehicles covered under the previous Notice of Violation announced Sept. 18. The options will be different for the three generations of engines involved.”

Like the five models of VW diesel vehicles with 2-liter engines the EPA flagged for emissions violations in September, the additional 3-liter diesel vehicles from Audi, Porsche and VW are not under recalls. McCabe reiterated that the vehicles are safe and legal to drive and that no action is required of vehicle owners at this time.

“Before we order VW to do a recall, we need to be sure the steps the company takes to fix the cars will be appropriate and acceptable. We will test the remedies from VW to make sure they meet our standards under all conditions. We also want to understand any impacts to vehicles’ performance, and the recall must be done at no cost to the owners,” McCabe said. “We expect VW to take seriously their responsibility to identify appropriate solutions to get these cars fixed as expeditiously as possible.”

Since Sept. 18, Volkswagen has been largely mum about its plans. While the German automaker has ordered its U.S. dealers to stop sales of new and used diesel vehicles affected by the first round of emissions violations, Volkswagen and its companies, Audi and Porsche, have not yet issued a stop-sale on the second round of affected vehicles.

Volkswagen has likewise not yet recalled the 482,000 diesels it sold in the U.S. since 2009 with the deceitful software on its 2-liter engines, nor has it announced a specific solution, but the emissions issue is likely to take years to resolve.

On Oct. 8, Michael Horn, chief executive of Volkswagen Group of America, testified before the House Energy and Commerce subcommittee in Washington, D.C., saying the company will not begin to recall or repair the rigged diesel cars until 2016. Horn said the recall process will take at least a year to complete.

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